Touch fastener

ABSTRACT

A touch fastener, including a base, a fastening layer and an adhesive, is provided. The base has a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The fastening layer is formed on the first surface of the base. The adhesive is formed on the first surface adjacent to the fastening layer. Consequently, the adhesive can be melted to firmly stick the touch fastener on an article. In addition, manufacturing mistakes can be prevented to reduce the defective rate by the use of the adhesive to attach the touch fastener on the article.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is based on, and claims priority from, Taiwan Application Serial Number 95217365, filed Sep. 28, 2006, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a fastener. More particularly, the present invention relates to a touch fastener with a firm and stable fastening effect.

2. Description of Related Art

Touch fasteners are quite common fasteners used to attach one article with another article in our daily life and are also popular.

With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a touch fastener or hook-and-loop fastener in accordance with the prior art comprises two layers, a loop side 100 and a hook side 100′. Each layer has a base 110, which is generally a piece of fabric. The base 110 of the loop side 100 has a surface covered with tiny fastening loops 120. Likewise, the base 110 of the hook side 100′ has a surface covered with tiny fastening kooks 130.

With reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, when using the touch fastener to bond two pieces of an article 140, the loop side 100 and the hook side 100′ are respectively attached to the two pieces of the article 140 on the interior 141 of the article 140 by stitching or ultrasonic welding process. Taking the article 140 as being a carpet for example, although the aforementioned method can bond two pieces of carpet together, there are some disadvantages as follows.

First, using stitches to attach both sides 100 and 100′ of the touch fastener on the interior 141 of the article 140 causes unsightly exterior 142 of the article 140.

With reference to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the loop side 100 and the hook side 100′ are respectively attached to the interior 141 of the article 140 so that the touch fastener is hidden by the article 140 and cannot be seen when facing the exterior 142 of the article 140. However, the stitches 150 that hold the touch fastener pass through the article 140 and are exposed at the exterior 142 of the article 140, which results in the unisightly appearance of the article 140.

Furthermore, edges 101 of the loop side 100 and the hook side 100′ may be raised in a direction opposite to the article 140 by the stress caused by the stitches 150. Therefore, the raised edges 101 of the loop side 100 and the hook side 100′ imposes potential hazards that a person may be injured while the person holds, assembles or carries the article 140.

Besides, corners 102 between the edges 101 are also raised and pointed regardless of using single-needle or multi-needle stitches to attach the touch fastener. The potential hazards of injury are still not being addressed.

Moreover, processing speed for stitching the touch fastener is slow, and mistaken stitches are easily occurring regardless of using single-needle or multi-needle stitches. The manufacturing yield is decreased.

With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, an additional length “w” of the hook side 100′ is required to stitch it on the article 140 and provide sufficient strength of bonding between the touch fastener and the article 140. Cost of the touch fastener is increased because of the additional length “w” of the hook side 100′.

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, when using the ultrasonic welding process to attach the loop side 100 (or the hook side 100′) on the interior 141 of the article, an adhesive 112 is coated to another surface 111 of the base 100. However, the adhesive 112 needs time to cure, which extends the manufacturing processing time and influences of quantity of production.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 5, taking bonding two carpet tiles, i.e. the article 140 in FIG. 3, for example. The arrangement of the loop side 100 and the hook side 100′ is that the sides 100 and 100′ must respectively be mounted on the pieces of carpet and face each other in order to seam the pieces of carpet tiles together in parallel to each other. Since the fastening hooks 130 need a catch in the fastening loops 120 to hold the pieces of carpet tiles together, the arrangement of the loop side 100 and the hook side 100′ has only two manners as respectively shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The surfaces with the fastening loops 120 or hooks 130 of the base 110 of the sides 100 and 100′ cannot be stuck on the article 140. Only the surfaces 111 without the fastening loops 120 or hooks 130 of the base 110 of the sides 100 and 100′ can be stuck on the article 140 with the adhesive 112. That means either the hook side 100′ or the loop side 100 must use stitches 150 to attach it on the article 140. As previously described, the use of stitches 150 renders an unsightly appearance of the entire article 140 and imposes potential hazards of being injured by the raised edges 101 and corners 102.

Besides, applications of the conventional touch fastener, such as shoe fastener, clothing fastener, carpet fastener, vehicle carpet fastener, mat fastener, parcel fastener, backpack fastener, hat fastener or sofa pad fastener etc. need neat and good-looking appearance. The exposed stitches 150 depress the appearance of the application. Besides, mistaken stitches may occur so that the yield and the quantity of production are decreased.

Therefore, there is a need to provide an improved touch fastener to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY

An object of the present invention is to provide a touch fastener with a fastening layer and an adhesive that are arranged in a same surface. The touch fastener is convenient to use to bond articles together, and is easy and quick to be attached to the articles with a robust and strong attachment and without resulting any raised edges.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a touch fastener that uses an adhesive to attach it on the articles to prevent any mistakes in processing and decreases the defective rate of processing.

A touch fastener comprises a base, a fastening layer and an adhesive. The base has a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The fastening layer is formed on the first surface. The adhesive is attached to the first surface adjacent to the fastening layer. When attaching the touch fastener to an article, the adhesive is melted by heat and pressure welding, such as ultrasonic welding or high frequency welding to stick the touch fastener on the article. Since only the first surface with melted adhesive can stick the article, the mistakes in processing operations are prevented. Further, the adhesive can firmly stick the touch fastener on the article to eliminate any raised edges that may impose potential injures.

In addition, a robust and strong connection between the touch fastener and the article can be obtained because of the exact attachment by the adhesive.

Since the mistakes in processing operations are avoided, defective rate of manufacture can be decreased that means the yield can be improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a loop side of a touch fastener in accordance with prior art;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a hook side of a touch fastener in accordance with prior art;

FIG. 3 is an operational plan view of an article when using the conventional touch fastener to bond parts of the article;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the article along line 4-4 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, operational view in partial section of the article in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, operational view in partial section of an article with an alternative, conventional touch fastener to bond parts of the article;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a touch fastener in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of the touch fastener along line 8-8 in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the touch fastener in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view of the touch fastener along line 10-10 in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the touch fastener in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged sectional view of the touch fastener along line 12-12 in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional view of a fourth embodiment of the touch fastener in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged sectional view of a fifth embodiment of the touch fastener in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged sectional view of a sixth embodiment of the touch fastener in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 16 is an enlarged operational view in partial section of an article, when using the touch fastener in accordance with the present invention to bond parts of the article; and

FIG. 17 is an enlarged operational view in partial section of an article, when using an alternative touch fastener in accordance with the present invention to bond parts of the article.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

Reference is made to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a touch fastener 200 in accordance with the present invention. FIG. 8 is a sectional side view of the touch fastener 200 along line 8-8 in FIG. 7.

The touch fastener 200 includes a base 210, a fastening layer 220 and an adhesive 230. The base 210 is a piece of fabric that means the base 210 is produced by weaving fibers and has a first surface 211 and a second surface 212 opposite to the first surface 211. Each surface 211 and 212 can be divided into two areas that are adjacent to each other. For example, the first surface 211 is divided into a first area 201 and a second area 202.

The fastening layer 220 is integrally formed on the first area 201 of the first surface 211 during the production of the base 210 by weaving fibers. The fastening layer 220 has multiple loop fasteners in this embodiment. Besides, the fastening layer 220 may have multiple hook fasteners for different applications.

The adhesive 230 may be made of glue film, gel, hot glue, polyurethane (PU) or Thermoplastic Urethane (TPU) etc. This embodiment adopts a glue film that is distributed onto the second area 202 of the first surface 211. The glue film of the adhesive 230 is arranged to be adjacent to the fastening layer 220. Furthermore, the fastening layer 220 and the adhesive 230 can be respectively formed on the second surface 212 of the base 210 to achieve the functions.

Refer to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10. A second embodiment of the touch fastener is similar to the touch fastener as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, except for the fastening layer 220. The fastening layer 220 is integrally formed on the entire first surface 211 including the first area 201 and the second area 202. When attaching the adhesive 230 to the second area 202, the loop fasteners on the second area 202 is pressed down by the adhesive 230 to attach the adhesive 230 on the second area 202 of the base 210. A pressed loop fastener layer 221 is formed between the adhesive 230 and the base 210. Likewise, the second embodiment of the touch fastener can be used to bond articles together.

Refer to FIG. 11 and FIG. 12. A third embodiment of a touch fastener 200′ is disclosed. The touch fastener 200′ comprises a base 210, a fastening layer 220′ and an adhesive 230.

The base 210 is a piece of fabric and has a first surface 211 and a second surface 212 opposite to the first surface 211. The first surface 211 is divided into a first area 201 and a second area 202 adjacent to the first area 201.

The fastening layer 220′ has multiple hook fasteners that are integrally formed on the base 210 when weaving the base 210. The hook fasteners of the fastening layer 220′ are distributed on the first area 201 of the base 210 when weaving the base 210, and are processed to be hook-shape.

The adhesive 230 may be made of glue film, gel, hot glue, polyurethane (PU) or Thermoplastic Urethane (TPU) etc. This embodiment adopts a glue film that is distributed onto the second area 202 of the first surface 211. The glue film of the adhesive 230 is arranged to be adjacent to the fastening layer 220′. Furthermore, the fastening layer 220′ and the adhesive 230 can be respectively formed on the second surface 212 of the base 210 to achieve the functions.

Refer to FIG. 13. A fourth embodiment of a touch fastener 200″ is disclosed. The touch fastener 200″ comprises a base 210, two fastening layers 220 and two adhesives 230.

The base 210 is a piece of fabric and has a first surface 211 and a second surface 212 opposite to the first surface 211. The first surface 211 and the second surface 212 are respectively divided into a first area 201 and a second area 202 adjacent to the first area 201. The first areas 201 are larger than the second areas 202.

The fastening layer 220 has multiple loop fasteners that are integrally formed on the base 210. The fastening layers 200 are woven simultaneously when weaving the base 210. The fastening layers 200 are respectively formed on the first areas 201 of the surfaces 211, 212 of the base 210.

The adhesives 230 may be made of glue film, gel, hot glue, polyurethane (PU) or Thermoplastic Urethane (TPU) etc. This embodiment adopts a glue film that is distributed onto each of the second areas 202 of the surfaces 211,212. The glue films of the adhesives 230 are arranged to be respectively adjacent to the fastening layer 220. Two pressed loop fastener layers 221 are formed between the adhesives 230 and the base 210.

Refer to FIG. 14. A fifth embodiment of a touch fastener 200″ is disclosed. The fifth embodiment modifies the fourth embodiment in FIG. 13. The modifications include replacing the loop fasteners of one of the fastening layers 220 with one fastening layer 220′ with the hook fasteners, and rearranging the fastening layers 220 and 220′ and the adhesives 230. The first fastening layer 220 is formed on the first area 201 of the first surface 211, while the second fastening layer 220′ is formed on the second area 202 of the second surface 212. The adhesives 230 are respectively attached to the second area 202 of the first surface 211 and the first area 201 of the second surface 212. Besides, the first area 201 is larger than the second area 202 of the first surface 212. The first area 201 is smaller than the second area 202 of the first surface 212.

Refer to FIG. 15. A sixth embodiment of a touch fastener 300 is disclosed. The touch fastener 300 comprises a base 310, a fastening layer 320 and an adhesive 330 and has a similar configuration with the second embodiment as shown in FIG. 12. The modifications of the sixth embodiment include using same material to fabricate the base 310 and the fastening layer 320. The base 310 and the fastening layer 320 are made of plastic and are integrally formed by plastic molding. The adhesive 330 is attached to the base 310 adjacent to the fastening layer 320.

The touch fastener in accordance with the present invention has several advantages.

First, the touch fasteners 200,200′, and 300 of the abovementioned embodiments arrange the adhesives 230 and 330 adjacent to the fastening layer 220. Thus, when using the touch fasteners 200,200′ and 300 to bind articles, the adhesives 230 and 330 are melted and stuck to the articles with heat and thermo pressure method (such as ultrasonic welding or high frequency welding). The adhesives 230 and 330 are exactly stuck to the articles so as to eliminate raised edges of the touch fastener. The potential hazards of injuring hands are prevented. In addition, the melted adhesive 230 and 330 can help stabilize the connection between the interior structure of the pressed fastening layer 211 and the base 210. Thus, the adhesive 230 and 330 quickly and stably stick the touch fastener on the articles to render a robust and stable connection between the touch fastener and the base 210.

Second, the adhesives 230 and 330 and the fastening layers 220 and 320 can be arranged on the same surface of the base 210 and 310, either on the first surface 211 or on the second surface 212. Only the adhesives 230,330 need to be welded by heat and pressure welding so that mistaking operations can be avoided. The touch fastener prevents mistakes as attaching the touch fasteners to the articles so that the yield has been improved.

Third, reference is made to FIG. 16 and FIG. 17. For example, using the touch fasteners 200 and 200′ to bond tow articles 400 such as carpet tiles that may be fabric carpet tiles or plastic carpet tiles, is disclosed. In FIG. 16, one fastening layer (the loop side) 100 is attached to the bottom 402 of one of the carpets 400 by ultrasonic welding and the touch fastener (the hook side) 200 is attached to the bottom 402 of another carpet 400. Likewise, In FIG. 17, one fastening layer (the hook side) 100 is attached to the bottom 402 of one of the carpets 400 by ultrasonic welding and the touch fastener (the loop side) 200′ is attached to the bottom 402 of another carpet 400. Since the fastening layers 220 and 220′ and the adhesive 230 are arranged on the same surface of the touch fasteners 200 and 200′, the fastening layers 220 and 220′ easily catch the fastening layer 100 on the bottom 402 of one of the carpets 400 to bond the carpets 400 together without any stitches. The present invention addresses the problems of the stitches appearing on the top 401 of the carpets 400 and renders the carpets 400 good-looking and pleasing.

Fourth, in the conventional method of attaching the touch fasteners to the articles with stitches, a long length w (as shown in FIG. 5) of the touch fastener is required for stitching. The touch fastener with an excessive length increase costs. However, the present invention simply uses the adhesive 230 to firmly attach the touch fastener with the articles. Only a short length W1 of the touch fastener is required for the adhesive 230. The length W1 is smaller the than the length w, which results in the costs being decreased with respect to attaching the conventional touch fasteners.

Refer to FIG. 16 and FIG. 17. Therefore, the touch fastener 200 and 200′ in accordance with the present invention has adjacent fastening layer 200 and adhesive 230 that may be arranged on the same surface of the base 210. Applications of the touch fasteners in accordance with the present invention are extensive. The touch fasteners may be used for shoes, clothes, vehicle rugs, vehicle carpet, carpets, rugs, parcels, backpacks, hats, or sofas etc. Attaching the touch fasteners on those articles does not need to use stitches so that the entire appearance of the articles is influenced. In addition, using the adhesive to stick the touch fasteners on the articles can prevent operation mistakes, results in decreasing defective rate and increasing quantity of manufacture. Furthermore, the adhesive 230 has been attached on the base 210 of the touch fastener before attaching the touch fastener to the articles. The touch fasteners can be quickly attached to the articles with heat and pressure method, and can be firmly and stably stuck to the articles without any raised edges that may impose potential injures. The touch fasteners are durable and can extend life time of use.

In addition, when attaching the touch fasteners to fabric articles, the melted adhesive can stick fibers of the fabric articles. The touch fasteners can not only be quickly attached to the fabric articles but also be firmly attached to the fabric articles. Robust and strong attachment between the touch fastener and the fabric article is provided.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents. 

1. A touch fastener comprising, a base with a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface; a fastening layer formed on the first surface; and an adhesive formed on the first surface adjacent to the fastening layer.
 2. The touch fastener as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adhesive is selected from the group of glue film, gel, PU and TPU.
 3. The touch fastener as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fastening layer is a loop side.
 4. The touch fastener as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fastening layer is a hook side.
 5. The touch fastener as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base is a piece of fabric.
 6. The touch fastener as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base is a piece of plastic.
 7. The touch fastener as claimed in claim 6, wherein the base and the fastening layer are integrally formed by plastic molding, and the fastening layer is a hook side.
 8. The touch fastener as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fastening layer is entirely distributed on the first surface, and the adhesive is coated partially over the fastening layer and presses down the coated fastening layer.
 9. The touch fastener as claimed in claim 1, wherein the touch fastener is attached to a piece of fabric.
 10. The touch fastener as claimed in claim 1, wherein the touch fastener is attached to a plastic film.
 11. A touch fastener comprising, a base with a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface; a first fastening layer formed on the first surface; a second fastening layer formed on the second surface; a first adhesive formed on the first surface adjacent to the first fastening layer; and a second adhesive formed on the second surface adjacent to the second fastening layer.
 12. The touch fastener as claimed in claim 11, wherein each of the first adhesive and the second adhesive is selected from the group of glue film, gel, PU and TPU.
 13. The touch fastener as claimed in claim 11, wherein the first fastening layer and the second fastening layer are respectively one of a hook side and a loop side.
 14. The touch fastener as claimed in claim 11, wherein the first fastening layer is a hook side and the second fastening layer is a loop side.
 15. The touch fastener as claimed in claim 11, wherein the base is a piece of fabric.
 16. The touch fastener as claimed in claim 11, wherein the base is made of plastic.
 17. The touch fastener as claimed in claim 16, wherein the base and the is first fastening layer are integrally formed by plastic molding, and the first fastening layer is a hook side.
 18. The touch fastener as claimed in claim 11, wherein the first fastening layer is entirely distributed on the first surface, and the first adhesive is coated partially over the first fastening layer and presses down the coated first fastening layer, and the second fastening layer is entirely distributed on the second surface, and the second adhesive is coated partially over the second fastening layer and presses down the coated second fastening layer.
 19. The touch fastener as claimed in claim 11, wherein the touch fastener is attached to a piece of fabric.
 20. The touch fastener as claimed in claim 11, wherein the touch fastener is attached to a plastic film. 